Half of Americans Believe Celebrities Can Make a Positive Difference When They Support a Cause

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt seen as top celebrities most effective for their causes

NEW YORK, N.Y. - November 5, 2013 - Whether it's to spread awareness of a disease or a conflict in another country, or even to help pass or stop a piece of legislation, celebrities get involved in causes hoping that their name recognition will help spur others to also get involved. Tales from Capitol Hill tell of star-struck Representatives and Senators waiting like teenage fans to hopefully meet George Clooney or Angelina Jolie as they testify in hearings on causes near and dear to them. But do these celebrities actually make a difference? Over half of Americans (53%) say that these celebrities can make a large or some positive difference to the cause they are promoting, up from 45% who said this in 2008. Just over one in five (22%) believe these celebrities can make a little positive difference for their cause and just 16% say they make no difference at all, down from 24% who said this in 2008.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,577 adults surveyed online between September 18 and 24, 2013 by Harris Interactive.

Many of these causes have a political nature, and Democrats seem to have more star firepower for causes they believe in over Republicans. Maybe this is why two-thirds of Democrats (67%) believe celebrities make a large or some positive difference to their causes, compared to 44% of Republicans who feel this way and 48% of Independents.

Celebrities may be able to make a positive difference, but can they spur others to support their cause? One in five Americans (19%) say they have gotten more information or done anything to support a cause because of something they heard an actor, singer or other celebrity do, up from 15% who said this in 2008. Actors and singers supporting a cause may be a way to spur younger Americans to get more involved. Over one-quarter of Echo Boomers (27%) say they have done something because of a celebrity, as have 22% of Gen Xers, compared to 15% and 10% of Baby Boomers and Matures, respectively.

One issue that celebrities also have to deal with can be negative publicity to a cause. Sometimes, these stars can have a scandal or do something that hurts their reputation. Over half of Americans (55%) believe that this negative publicity can be very or somewhat damaging to the issue that celebrity is promoting, while 23% believe it can be a little damaging. Just 7% of Americans believe the negative publicity to a star would be not at all damaging to the cause they were promoting.

Brangelina on top

Certain celebrities are known for having more star power than others. And, that can translate into more light shining on a cause they may support. When asked about actors, musicians, athletes and other celebrities who are currently active in championing a cause, over one in ten Americans (12%) say Angelina Jolie has been very effective in raising awareness of her cause, followed by 5% who say Brad Pitt. Next on the list are Michael J. Fox and Bono/U2 (4% each); George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres (3% each); and Jerry Lewis and Marlo Thomas (2% each).

Celebrities and Politics

Besides causes, celebrities are also becoming more and more involved in politics - not only at the presidential level, but also at the gubernatorial and senatorial levels. They endorse candidates and appear at events with them, hoping their fans will support their political choices. Americans are divided as to how good an idea this is, with 40% saying it is a bad thing and 38% believing it is a good thing; 22% are not sure if it is a good or bad thing. The star power leans Democratic, so this may be why three in five Democrats (59%) believe it is a good thing, compared to the three in five Republicans (61%) who say it is a bad thing. Among Independents, 44% say it is a bad thing, 33% believe it is a good thing and 24% are not sure.

And, with this support, there can be a change of viewpoint. Almost three in five Americans (58%) say they believe the support of a celebrity can change a person's views about which candidate to support, compared to 25% who say this support does not change a person's view. And here there is partisan alignment, as three in five Republicans (60%) and Democrats (60%), and almost three in five Independents (58%), believe the support of a celebrity changes people's views about which candidate to support.

"Many times celebrities get involved in various causes, including domestic and foreign policies, as well as the prevention and treatment of diseases. How much positive difference do you believe these celebrities can make to the issue they are promoting?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Total 2008

Total 2013

Generation

Political Party

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Rep.

Dem.

Ind.

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Large/Some Difference (NET)

45

53

57

53

49

50

44

67

48

A large difference

11

15

18

14

15

12

13

22

12

Some difference

33

37

39

39

34

38

31

45

35

Little/No Difference (NET)

51

38

33

37

39

46

48

26

42

A little difference

27

22

23

19

23

22

28

16

26

No difference at all

24

16

10

18

17

24

20

10

16

Not sure

4

10

9

10

11

4

8

7

10

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 2

SUPPORTING A CAUSE BECAUSE OF A CELEBRITY

"Have you ever gotten more information or done anything to support a cause because of something you heard an actor, singer or other celebrity say or do?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Total 2008

Total 2013

Generation

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

%

%

%

%

%

%

Yes

15

19

27

22

15

10

No

85

81

73

78

85

90

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3

VERY EFFECTIVE CELEBRITIES

"Thinking about actors, musicians, athletes and other celebrities who are currently active in championing a cause, which ones do you believe have been very effective in raising awareness of their cause? Please name any that come to mind."

Base: U.S. adults

Total 2013

Generation

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

%

%

%

%

%

Angelina Jolie

12

14

11

13

6

Brad Pitt

5

6

3

6

5

Michael J. Fox

4

4

5

4

5

Bono/U2

4

5

2

4

2

George Clooney

3

3

4

4

3

Oprah Winfrey

3

5

2

3

3

Ellen DeGeneres

3

3

2

3

1

Jerry Lewis

2

*

1

3

4

Marlo Thomas

2

-

1

3

2

Bill and Melinda Gates

1

2

1

1

1

Matt Damon

1

2

1

1

1

Lance Armstrong

1

2

2

*

*

Gary Sinise

1

1

1

1

3

Halle Berry

1

2

*

*

2

Lady Gaga

1

2

1

*

*

Sean Penn

1

1

1

1

1

Magic Johnson

1

1

1

1

1

Sheryl Crow

1

1

*

1

*

Sarah McLachlan

1

1

1

*

-

Betty White

1

*

1

1

*

Bon Jovi

1

1

1

1

*

Elton John

1

*

1

1

1

Others

32

34

31

30

30

Don't know

12

9

13

12

18

None/no response

36

31

36

38

40

Note: Unprompted responses; Only those responses with at least 1% shown; * indicates a response rate of <0.5%

TABLE 4

CELEBRITIES AND POLITICS

"Besides causes, celebrities have become more and more involved in the politics, endorsing candidates and appearing at events with them. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?"

Base: All US adults

Total 2013

Generation

Political Party

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Rep.

Dem.

Ind.

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

GOOD (NET)

38

37

38

40

36

21

59

33

Very good

9

7

8

10

9

3

16

6

Somewhat good

30

30

30

30

27

18

43

27

BAD (NET)

40

42

37

35

50

61

19

44

Somewhat bad

24

31

19

18

29

32

15

26

Very Bad

16

12

18

16

21

29

5

17

Not sure

22

21

25

26

14

18

22

24

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding;

TABLE 5

CELEBRITIES CHANGING POLITICAL VIEWS

"Do you believe that the support of a celebrity changes people's views about which candidate to support?"

Base: All US adults

Total 2013

Generation

Political Party

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Rep.

Dem.

Ind.

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

CHANGES VIEWS (NET)

58

65

54

57

52

60

60

58

Definitely changes views

10

12

10

9

7

16

8

8

Probably changes views

48

53

43

48

45

45

52

50

DOESN'T CHANGE VIEWS (NET)

25

18

23

28

38

27

25

25

Probably does not change views

20

14

16

23

29

20

21

20

Definitely does not change views

5

4

6

5

9

8

4

5

Not sure

17

17

23

15

10

12

15

17

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding;

TABLE 6

CELEBRITIES HARMING A CAUSE

"Sometimes a celebrity who is attached to a cause, including domestic and foreign policies as well as the prevention and treatment of diseases, can have a scandal or do something that hurts their reputation. How damaging do you believe these celebrities' negative publicity can be to the issue they are promoting?"

Base: All U.S. adults

Total 2013

Generation

Echo Boomers (18-36)

Gen X. (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

%

%

%

%

%

Somewhat/Very damaging (NET)

55

53

49

59

54

Very damaging

20

15

21

23

20

Somewhat damaging

35

39

28

36

34

Not at all/A little damaging (NET)

29

32

29

26

35

A little damaging

23

26

21

21

26

Not at all damaging

7

6

8

5

9

Not sure

16

15

23

15

11

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 18 to 24, 2013 among 2,577 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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